Dear Parrots magazine,
Ouch!
I have an African Grey parrot who bit his leg ring so tightly, and where he squashed it so tight we were able to cut it off, with the much appreciated advice from Mr Alan Jones, MRCVS, who used to be my vet.
We were able to help the parrot, but I think he may have lost circulation with the ring having been so tight, and he would shake his leg and start to bite it so much that it was bleeding. He wasn't eating much and looked very thin, so I used tea tree oil on his leg and since then he stopped biting his leg and he has been eating non-stop and is back to his old cheeky self.
I’m writing this as it may help others with parrots that self-pluck. If they are sprayed where they have no feathers it may stop them plucking. However, this is my view as it helped my parrot with his leg, but it may be worth trying out, you never know, it could work as they don’t like the taste of it.
Regards
Jean Aston, by email